Want more women in any field? Become a teacher.
The best way to see more women in any field—from STEM to politics to business—is to pursue a career in education.
Author: Kate Moening
The best way to see more women in any field—from STEM to politics to business—is to pursue a career in education.
Author: Kate Moening
If you watched Ketanji Jackson Brown’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings, you know that Jackson stayed unflappable through a gauntlet of hours-long, often heated questioning. After the Senate’s April 7 vote, Jackson will become the Court’s 116th justice—and make history as the sixth woman, and the first Black woman, to serve on the bench.
In the Supreme Court’s 233-year history, just 4 percent of justices have been women (and until now, Justice Sotomayor was the only woman of color). Of course, women are underrepresented in other industries too. In no particular order: Women hold only about 27 percent of jobs in STEM. (1) They make up 27 percent of school superintendents and about one quarter of Congress. (2)(3) In 2021, women directed 12 percent of the 100 top-grossing films. (4) They comprise only 8.2 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs. (5) In every field, the numbers are disproportionately lower for women of color.
Skewed gender gaps aren’t new, but moving the needle is an intractable problem. So. What’s really needed to get more women into male-dominated fields? There’s no single answer—but here’s one approach: It starts with teachers.
Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation is historic, but it shouldn’t be. It raises the question, why is Jackson the first Black woman in her position?
Jackson illustrates what can happen when we invest in girls and their education. The daughter of educators, Jackson credits teachers with helping her get her where she is today.
“I have … had extraordinary mentors, like my high school debate coach, Fran Berger,” Jackson says. “She invested fully in me, including taking me to Harvard—the first I’d ever really thought of it—to enter a speech competition. Mrs. Berger believed in me, and, in turn, I believed in myself.” (6)
School is one of the first places where students start imagining their future selves. The opportunities teachers offer them, the books on their classroom shelves, the people they see in their school hallways, all tell stories about who students could or should be. Educators get to shape these stories, and shift the way girls think about themselves and their futures.
Teachers set the tone for how students approach learning—and that can alter the trajectory of a young woman’s career. Research shows that young women struggle with perfectionism and fear of failure more than boys and young men. As a result, they can be less likely to try new things, or things they don’t think they’ll be good at. (7) Strong role models can help girls embrace exploration, and see learning as an exciting process, rather than a goal.
Take Lauren Danner’s story: Danner began her career as a research scientist, but wanted a more direct way to share her passion for the field. She decided to shift her career and become a high school science teacher, because she wanted to make a difference.
Describing the impact she has on her students, Danner says:
“As a female science teacher and former scientist, some of my female students were inspired to delve into a career in science as well. They shared that, prior to taking my class, they never visualized themselves being successful in the field of science.”
Teachers like Danner can free girls to follow their curiosity, build confidence and develop new skills. As children’s rights activist Marian Wright Edelman famously said, “You can’t be what you can’t see.”
Certainly not every student needs to be a future biochemist, senator, or CEO. The point is that too often, women’s careers in these fields never have a chance to begin, because they aren’t given a roadmap or support. Educators can help girls see connections between their values and careers they may not have considered.
And there are lots of resources to help teachers inspire their students. Take these examples from educational organizations around the country:
Investing in girls and shaping their future is no small task. But whether you’re just starting out, like Ketanji Brown Jackson when she first visited Harvard, or deep in another career, like Lauren Danner once was—you can ask yourself: What’s my legacy going to be?
No matter what you’re doing right now, when you become a teacher, you have an opportunity to show girls what they can become. And who knows? You could be inspiring the next Supreme Court justice.